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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25733860">Fly by Night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_capped_chickadee/pseuds/Black_capped_chickadee'>Black_capped_chickadee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Warriors - Erin Hunter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Forbidden Love, Inspired by Warriors - Erin Hunter, Major Character(s), Mutual Pining, RiverClan (Warriors), Secret Crush, ThunderClan (Warriors)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:40:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25733860</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_capped_chickadee/pseuds/Black_capped_chickadee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Firestar has to fulfill a promise he made to a certain Riverclan cat. Soon the two grow close and open up to one another, but their high positions in their clans force them to make some painful decisions.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Firestar/Mistyfoot (Warriors), Graystripe/Silverstream (Warriors)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first time writing fan fiction so sorry if this isn’t the greatest writing you’ve ever read. Hope you still enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Firestar slowly opened his eyes as he felt the slight sting of sunlight hit his face. The orange tabby rubbed his face and his vision adjusted to the small den. As his emerald eyes got used to the den, he noticed that the sunlight got into the dark and claustrophobic cave because a piece of lichen broke from the top of the entrance. The tom slowly got up from his paws and stretched out his legs. As he stretched he looked over at the smooth walls of the cave and felt a wave of loneliness hit him. He had only been appointed leader three moons ago and wasn’t quite used to how quiet the leader’s den is. He remembered the times when he and Graystripe would talk in the apprentice’s den and the warrior’s den when the gray tom didn’t meet with Silverstream.</p><p>Silverstream. The Riverclan tabby that Graystripe fell in love with, which resulted in two motherless kits, two shocked clans, and two friends torn apart. Firestar shook away the memory of Silverstream’s painful expression and how hard it was to clean her blood of his paws. While her death happened moons ago and Graystripe and Firestar rekindled their friendship, the Thunderclan leader knew the forbidden relationship would affect his clan and Riverclan as long as the forest stayed standing. Firestar quickly groomed his pelt, forcing himself to ignore intruding thoughts of the past and padded out of the den.</p><p>“Morning, Firestar.” The leader stopped short before he ran into the yellow cream molly before him. Firestar let out a purr and looked at the cat’s bright green eyes. “Hello Sandstorm.” He replied. For a few heartbeats there was silence between them. The two cats had started to get closer and the majority of the clan assumed they were mates. However, Firestar was hesitant to actually ask Sandstorm out, which leaves the two puzzled on where the relationship will go.</p><p>“Um, so, did Graystripe set up any patrols?” Firestar asked, looking around the camp as he got into a sitting position.</p><p>“Uh, yeah. He put me in charge of the dawn hunting patrol. I caught a shrew.” Sandstorm replied, flexing her claws out of awkwardness. “Do you want to, I don’t know, share it with-“</p><p>“Firestar! Ferncloud is kitting!” Within a heartbeat Mousefur, a Thunderclan warrior, ran up to Firestar and flicked him with her tail as she told him the news. The leader’s eyes widened.</p><p>“She’s kitting?! Is Dustpelt with her?” Sandstorm asked. A hint of annoyance was in her tone, but she was asking genuinely.</p><p>“No, he’s out on patrol at Sunningrocks right now. You go fetch him while I tell the Ashfur.” Mousefur said. The two mollys quickly dashed in opposite directions as more of the clan realized what was happening.  Firestar felt almost frozen. He felt his heartbeat quicken as he thought over the situation. </p><p>Ferncloud is becoming a mother now? She’s so young though, she’s barely a warrior! Why did Dustpelt become mates with her so soon? What if-</p><p>What if she starts bleeding like Silverstream</p><p>The leader sprang up and ran towards the nursery. As he slowed down near the entrance he could see the dark gray fur of Cinderpelt, the Thunderclan medicine cat, the white paws of another Thunderclan queen named Brightheart. The orange tom scanned the den, trying to pick up any fear-scent or distressed faces from inside. He could hear Cinderpelt mumbling something to Ferncloud, but it was too faint to hear. Suddenly a weak wail came from the nursery.</p><p>“Your first kit! He looks just like Dustpelt!” Brightheart purred loud enough for Firestar to hear. The leader suddenly felt a pelt rub against his side. He looked to see One-eye’s gaze observing him.</p><p>“I just love when new kits arrive too. But maybe give Cinderpelt and Ferncloud some space, you don’t want to give a queen any more stress, especially when it’s her first litter.” The elder said to Firestar. One-eye started to walk away from the nursery and flicked her tail, signaling him to follow. Firestar’s paws felt like lead yet he managed to walk with the frail she-cat.</p><p>It got bad when the second kit was born. Firestar thought as he forced himself to smooth out his pelt and sit beside One-eye.</p><p>“Having kits is one of the best things to happen to a cat.” One-eye said, trying to spark a conversation with the orange tabby. “I remember when I had my kits, my biggest regret is probably not having a second litter. What about you?” </p><p>“I, I never really thought about it.” Firestar mustered out, glancing at the nursery den.</p><p>“Well, I bet you and Sandstorm would be wonderful parents.” The elder said. Firestar perked his head up when he heard rustling from the horse tunnel and saw Dustpelt run up to the nursery.</p><p>“Is she ok? How many are there? Any sons?” The brown Tom asked, his amber eyes wide with anxiety and concern. Firestar noticed Cinderpelt pad out of the den with a small smile.<br/>“She’s doing great. You both have two beautiful sons.” The medicine cat said.</p><p>She’s doing alright. Firestar echoed the sentence in his mind and was finally able to relax. He got up with One-eye to peek inside the nursery. Two brown kits were suckling at Ferncloud’s belly. The young queen looked at her sons with pride and kindness, licking between their ears. Firestar entered the den and looked at the two new parents with respect.</p><p>“Congratulations. They will make fine warriors one day.” The orange tabby said as he watched Dustpelt rest his head against his mate’s back, looking down at his sons with delight.</p><p>“Thank you Firestar. Spiderkit and Shrewkit won’t disappoint you, I already know.” Ferncloud said to her leader. The tom lowered his head and licked the spotted queen’s head in respect and left the den. As he left the nursery entrance he saw his deputy and friend Graystripe trot up to him.</p><p>“Graystripe. We have two new kits that entered the clan. You should meet them-“</p><p>“Firestar. I need to show you something.” The gray tom cut off his leader with a serious tone, which wasn’t like him. The orange tabby looked at Graystripe and felt his pelt bristle.</p><p>“What happened?”</p><p>Graystripe beckoned Firestar to leave with him through the gorse tunnel and Firestar obeyed. The two cats walked at a fast pace.</p><p>“Well me, Dustpelt, Cloudtail, and Thronclaw were on patrol. Before Sandstorm came to tell us Ferncloud was kitting, we found a scent of Riverclan on our territory. Dustpelt and Cloudtail left with Sandstorm and I told Thornclaw to meet up with the Riverclan patrol up north and ask them if they’ve been trespassing-“</p><p>“Wait, you made Thornclaw confront an enemy clan’s patrol alone and let Cloudtail leave with Dustpelt? Why would you do that?” Firestar asked bewildered. Firestar made Graystripe his deputy because it was Whitestorm’s dying wish, yet Firestar felt like Graystripe wasn’t the best at decision making.</p><p>“Well, right after that I found her, and she’s only told me she needs to talk to you.” Graystripe said, ignoring Firestar’s question.</p><p>“Who are you talking about?” Firestar asked. Graystripe lifted a forepaw and pointed at a rock. On top of said rock was a dark blue cat with piercing blue eyes. For a split second Firestar thought it was Bluestar, his late mentor and leader, but he quickly realized who it was.</p><p>“Firestar. I need to speak with you.” Said Mistyfoot, the Riverclan deputy.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The orange tom watched as Mistyfoot gracefully leaped down from atop the rock and landed in front of the Thunderclan cats, not making a sound as her paws hit the sandy bottom. Firestar lowered his head to make eye contact with the smaller Riverclan cat. </p>
<p>“What is it? It must be important if I had to be dragged out of camp.” Firestar said, ending with a weak smile. Mistyfoot’s ice-blue gaze stayed on Firestar with an unreadable expression on her face. Firestar almost felt like a kit being scolded by an elder while keeping eye contact with the shecat.</p>
<p>“It is important.” Mistyfoot replies with a serious tone. The ginger leader was shocked how similar Mistyfoot reminded him of Bluestar, despite the Riverclan molly barely interacting with her and not knowing until recently she was her mother. </p>
<p>“Well?” Firestar asked, waiting to hear what the molly had to say.</p>
<p>“He can’t be here. I need to speak with you alone.” Mistyfoot said, looking over at Graystripe.  Mistyfoot was one of the few Riverclan cats that didn’t hate or ostracize Graystripe when he joined the clan for a short time to be with his kits.</p>
<p>‘Maybe she felt obligated to like him. Since he was her friend’s mate.’ Firestar thought. He knew the two mollies were close, and she, Firestar, and Cinderpelt were the only cats that knew about the half-clan affair for a while. Firestar looked over at his deputy, who looked almost shocked to be asked to leave.</p>
<p>“Firestar, maybe this is a trap. When I leave, the entirety of Riverclan might attack you.” Graystripe said.</p>
<p>“Do you honestly think I’d help to ambush the cat that helped save me from Tigerclan?” Mistyfoot meowed coldly. Firestar felt a shiver run down his spine when the shecat uttered that cursed word. Tigerclan would leave a dark shadow over the clan cats for moons to come, especially over the poor half-clan cats that were tortured for something out of their control. Firestar nodded his head and looked at Graystripe.</p>
<p>“It’s ok Graystripe. Tell the clan I’m hunting alone if they ask where I am.” The Thunderclan leader said. The deputy’s chest fur ruffled and he reluctantly nodded and padded away from the two cats. Firestar watched as his friend disappeared into the forest and turned back to Mistyfoot.</p>
<p>“Alright. Now can you tell me-“</p>
<p>“I want to see where she died.” Mistyfoot said before the tom could finish his sentence. Firestar’s emerald eyes looked at the molly with confusion.</p>
<p>“What?” He blurted out.</p>
<p>“I want to see...where Silverstream spent her final moments.” Mistyfoot said in a quieter tone. Firestar’s bones felt heavy as he realized what she meant. The tom inhaled deeply as the memories of Silverstream’s wails and Graystripe’s cries flooded his head.</p>
<p>“You promised to show me where she died. I think I’m ready now.” Mistyfoot said, averting her eyes to her front paws. Firestar nodded his head. He remembered telling Mistyfoot moons ago about her friend and offered to show her where she died as a way to comfort her. The Thunderclan leader slowly walked up to Mistyfoot and placed his tail over her flank.</p>
<p>“We’re not far from it.” Firestar said to the blue-grey molly. “Are you sure you’re comfortable seeing it?”</p>
<p>Mistyfoot looked up from the ground and at Firestar’s emerald eyes. “Yes. It’s been long enough.” She meowed softly. Firestar simply nodded his head and started to walk along Sunningrocks.</p>
<p>It only took a few minutes to reach the edge of Sunningrocks, where big rocks loomed over the two cats. Mistyfoot walked just behind Firestar, watching his every move and following closely. Suddenly Firestar stopped short and looked to his side. Right next to him was a giant rock that tilted slightly to the side, giving protection from snow or rain to anything underneath it. Firestar exhaled deeply.</p>
<p>“This is where she kitted.” Firestar said. Mistyfoot walked up to Firestar’s side and hesitated for a moment before walking up to the rock. She observed the piece of stone and circled around it once before going under the rock. She slowly sat down, her claws unsheathed and digging into the sand below her. Firestar cautiously padded up to the Riverclan deputy and sat down next to her. Firestar could see Mistyfoot’s muscles tense and the ginger tom placed his tail faintly over her shoulders. Firestar felt the Riverclan molly flinch, yet she smoothed out her pelt. For several heartbeats the two felines stood motionless, watching the river roar and race downward next to them.</p>
<p>“I should’ve been here.” Mistyfoot said, finally breaking the silence. Firestar looked over at the shecat. He noticed how she hunched over, her eyes fixed on the river’s ripples. “She looked for me before she went into kitting. I was on a patrol.” Firestar noticed Mistyfoot’s voice begin to tremble. “I should’ve stayed by her side till the end, I could’ve comfort her while she died.” </p>
<p>Mistyfoot suddenly broke down in soft sobs. Before thinking, Firestar placed a forepaw on the molly and pulled her close to his side. The Riverclan deputy buried her face in the ginger tabby’s chest fur, staining his bright pelt with streams of tears. The two stayed in this position for what seemed like moons, until finally Mistyfoot’s breathe stuttered and she moved her head away from Firestar.</p>
<p>“Thank you. It’s been a rough few moons, and I needed this.” She muttered.</p>
<p>“No problem. You deserve some closure with your friend.” Firestar said. Mistyfoot looked up at the ginger tabby and smiled weakly, she leaned her head on the tom’s shoulders. Firestar felt his pelt grow hot, but he forced his fur to lay smooth. He didn’t want to upset the shecat, even if he got a little uncomfortable. He placed his tail over Mistyfoot’s and the two looked out at the edge of the Riverclan camp. Suddenly Mistyfoot got up which caused Firestar to almost fall, not realizing he was leaning on the Riverclan deputy. </p>
<p>“I need to head back now. Leopardstar must be wondering where I am.” The molly said, looking out at the river. She looked back at Firestar, her ice blue eyes looked like they were gleaming in the sunlight. “Thank you again Firestar.” She said quickly before trotting you to the river’s edge and beginning to swim across</p>
<p>“You’re welcome! I hope you’re clan is doing well!” Firestar said as he watched her swim strongly over to the over side. The ginger leader watched as Mistyfoot shook her pelt and began to groom her fur. It wasn’t till now that Firestar realized she was much different from her mother. Her tail was shorter and fluffier than Bluestar’s, her ears were smaller and her eyes were bigger. Mistyfoot’s fur was softer and smelled better and-</p>
<p>Firestar’s bright green eyes widened and his chest fur puffed out in embarrassment. He found himself attracted to a cat from another clan.</p>
<p>‘Fox dung.’</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It’s been a while since I’ve read Forest of Secrets so sorry if I got anything wrong continuity-wise!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Stars I Trust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Firestar quickly ran back to Thunderclan camp and occasionally would stop to lick his chest fur out of embarrassment. No cat should feel that way to a cat in an enemy clan, especially a leader. The tom shook his head in an attempt to rid his mind of Mistyfoot, but to little avail. Finally, the ginger tabby reached the ravine and started to climb down. Once he reached the bottom, he noticed Graystripe next to him.</p><p>“What happened? Was there an ambush? Did she take one of your lives?” Graystripe asked, his yellow eyes wide and his big tail slashing side to side. Firestar felt his heart race a little, trying to think up a reason Mistyfoot wanted to talk to him.</p><p>‘I shouldn’t tell him the truth. She clearly didn’t want him to know back at Sunningrocks.’ Firestar thought. Without missing a heartbeat the ginger tom replied.</p><p>“Mistyfoot claimed some Thunderclan apprentices ate some fish, but I resolved the situation.” Graystripe scoffed and rolled his yellow eyes.</p><p>“Us? Eat fish? Why would they think we wanted their smelly prey?” He said. Firestar tilted his head.</p><p>“Didn’t you eat fish?” He asked.</p><p>“Yeah, but it was awful. I’d rather eat crowfood.” The deputy said as the two friends began walking toward the gorse tunnel. “Why did Mistyfoot need to tell you this alone? With only you?” Graystripe asked. Firestar moved his gaze away from the tom, trying to think of a reason.</p><p>“I guess she wanted to make sure I punished the apprentices that didn’t steal prey.” He said. Graystripe let out a small laugh and the two went single-file through the gorse tunnel. When they entered the camp Firestar told Graystripe to check on Spiderkit and Shrewkit while he checked with mentors. </p><p>“Hey, Firestar.” The ginger tabby stopped and saw Sandstorm walking by his side, placing her tail over his flank. “I was looking for you.” Firestar held back a sigh and side-eyed the pale ginger shecat.</p><p>“Sorry, I just need to talk with Cloudtail and Longtail about their apprentices.” Firestar said. Sandstorm looked away and exhaled loudly.</p><p>“Can’t you take a heartbeat to listen to me?” The molly meowed. Sandstorm walked in front of the leader to force him to stop. Her fur was bristled and her green eyes glared a hole in Firestar.</p><p>“For a moon you ignore me and the next moon you’re all over me. We need to talk about this before I lose my mind.” Sandstorm growled quietly so fellow clanmates couldn’t hear. Firestar tilted his head slightly.</p><p>“Talk about..?” Firestar mumbled. Sandstorm groaned and rolled her eyes in annoyance.</p><p>“Talk about our future. You can’t keep stringing me along like this. I need to know if you actually want to be mates or if you’re still too hung up on Spottedleaf to have another shecat in your life.” Firestar opened his mouth, almost in shock. He has started to have feelings for Sandstorm, but his young crush on the late Spottedleaf made him hesitant to get closer to his fellow warrior, especially since Spottedleaf walks in his dreams occasionally. The Thunderclan leader noticed that the pale molly looked almost hurt, and he felt his stomach churn, feeling guilty for unintentionally hurting his clanmate.</p><p>“I’m sorry Sandstorm. I just need some time to think about what I want to do. I’m now leader and I need to get comfortable watching over the whole clan before thinking of starting a family.” The ginger tabby said. He nudged his head against Sandstorm’s and licked her chin. “Don’t feel obligated to treat me like your mate. You should try and look after yourself, decide if you do want me as a mate and if you do want kits this early.” Sandstorm looked up at Firestar and smiled weakly.</p><p>“You’re right. Maybe we should take time to think through...whatever we have.” Exhaled Sandstorm. She started to pad away from the leader but turned to look at him. “See you on patrol.” She said as she went up to talk with Mousefur. Firestar smiled back and felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was getting confused over new feelings and not worrying about Sandstorm would help him. Firestar sat down and started to think about what happened at Sunningrocks.</p><p>‘Why am I feeling this way towards Mistyfoot now? I didn’t pay her much mind before, or did I? Am I just realizing these feelings?’</p><p>“Did you and Sandstorm break up?” Firestar looked up and saw Graystripe looking between the leader and the pale molly.</p><p>“No. We’re just...taking a break.” The ginger tom said, getting up on his paws and trotting towards his den. “Wake me for the evening patrol.” He said to Graystripe as he entered the cave with lichen dangling over the entrance. </p><p>“But what about talking to Cloudtail and...and you’re making me do it. Figures” Graystripe said as he watched Firestar disappear into the leader’s den.</p><p>Firestar fell into his nest and tried to fall asleep despite not being tired. He was hoping that when he woke up he wouldn’t like Mistyfoot anymore. He hoped these feelings would go away and his loyalty wouldn’t be wavered by a single shecat. He placed a forepaw over his face and sighed. Instead of forgetting the Riverclan deputy, his mind was filled with Mistyfoot’s smile, her pelt, and her eyes. He couldn’t deny it at this point. He was infatuated with Mistyfoot, the Riverclan deputy.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Newleaf Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s been a moon since Firestar and Mistyfoot met, but time hasn’t helped the Thunderclan leader from forgetting the blue molly. He’s started to take every patrol he can near Riverclan’s border and began to hunt along Sunningrocks. It’s gotten so bad that at the gathering last moon high he nearly forgot to mention Ferncloud’s kits to the clans because he was looking for Mistyfoot in the large crowd. Firestar knew he had to stop thinking about the Riverclan cat, but he couldn’t help remembering how thankful she looked when he helped her find closure with her late friend.</p>
<p>It was late at night in Thunderclan camp and Firestar was looking over the clan. He watched Spiderkit and Shrewkit attack Goldenflower’s tail and listened to a story by Dappletail. Firestar smiled as he watched the kits play. For a heartbeat the ginger tom thought that he should have kits of his own as well, but he quickly dismissed this thought.</p>
<p>‘I’ve just become leader, I need to wait a few more moons before deciding such a big choice.’ He thought. ‘Besides, I don’t even know who I love enough to be mates with.’ Firestar sighed as he thought about his complicated love life, or lack thereof. When he first joined the clan, he was enamored by Spottedleaf, the medicine cat. However, this was more of an apprentice crush, and Firestar knew it could never work out with her duties and the fact she was dead. For a while the ginger tom thought he lived Sandstorm, but he was always afraid and hesitant of making a move, thus the relationship became stunted instead of growing. Then there was Mistyfoot, a cat he thought little of and now was utterly infatuated with.</p>
<p>Firestar groaned and went into his den. He laid down in his small nest and got into a comfortable position. Thinking about mates and kits gave him a headache and he just wanted to sleep and not think anymore. After several heartbeats the leader’s eyelids finally began to grow heavy and his breathing slowed down, drifting off into sleep.</p>
<p>Firestar opened his eyes and he was in a small field filled with colorful flowers. He looked up to see a pink sky with clouds scattered across. The ginger tabby looked around the small plot of land and his emerald eyes caught the glimpse of a spotted pelt. Suddenly, the smell of catmint filled his nostrils and he saw the spotted pelt’s owner look at him with piercing amber eyes like a snake. The Thunderclan leader realized who this cat was and began to trot up to her.</p>
<p>“Hello Spottedleaf.” Firestar said. He said down next to the molly and watched as she licked her paws to clean her face.</p>
<p>“Hello Firestar.” She replied. Firestar held his breath, waiting for the shecat to say more. Whenever the former medicine cat came, she warned Firestar about a danger the clans faced. After a few heartbeats Spottedleaf stopped grooming herself and looked up at the tom.</p>
<p>“I’ve been watching you from Starclan, and I noticed who’ve been having trouble.” She said, eyeing Firestar like she knew a secret. Firestar felt his fur prickle but tried to act leisure and oblivious to what she was saying.</p>
<p>“Trouble with what? Am I not leading the clan well?” He said, hoping the shecat wouldn’t notice his chest fur puffed out in embarrassment. Spotted leaf let out a chuckle and placed a forepaw on Firestar.</p>
<p>“You know what I mean, Firestar. I’ve seen how you look at Mistyfoot.” Firestar felt his pelt grow as hot as the sun. He looked away from the mottled molly and groomed his chest fur. Spotted leaf placed her tail over Firestar’s shoulders.</p>
<p>“Look, I know how confusing these feelings can be. They make you feel terrible and wonderful at the same time.” She said. She tilted her head so Firestar could look at her. “I can’t help you much with what you’re going through, but I can give you this advice.” Firestar looked up from his haphazard grooming and his green eyes widened.</p>
<p>“You can help me? Please Spottedleaf, tell me what I can do to stop this from tearing me apart.”</p>
<p>“Follow your heart.” The shecat said with a soft smile. Firestar squinted his eyes in confusion.</p>
<p>“How can I follow my heart if it’s pulling me in different directions?” He asked. Spottedleaf simply smiled and licked Firestar’s forehead.</p>
<p>“I think you know that’s a lie. You haven’t talked to Sandstorm alone for almost a moon.” Spotted leaf said.</p>
<p>“What about you? I still think I love you, after all these moons.” Firestar mumbled. Spottedleaf nodded her head, her previous smile disappeared. She inhaled deeply.</p>
<p>“Look, Firestar. I know you do have feelings for me, and for a while I’ve thought I did too. But I realized I can’t keep you trapped in a relationship that never happened. You need to move on and live your life. My time already passed, but yours hasn’t.” </p>
<p>Firestar felt his stomach churn as he heard Spottedlead speak. He curled his tail over his paws and felt his breathing tighten.</p>
<p>“So...you haven’t loved me for a while?” Spottedleaf looked at the Thunderclan leader with a guilty face, and she exhaled deeply. She shook her head lightly.</p>
<p>“No, I’m sorry Firestar.” She said blankly. After a heartbeat she continued. “But that doesn’t matter, because you and I both know you’re falling in love with Mistyfoot. Next moon high, I suggest you wait by Sunningrocks-“</p>
<p>“Why are you doing this?” Firestar snapped. Spottedleaf started at the tom with shock. Firestar felt his pelt spike up. “Why are you encouraging me to break the code? Aren’t you a Starclan cat? Why are you trying to make my loyalty waver?” Spottedleaf shook her head.</p>
<p>“Firestar, I know you’d never break the code. You’re too smart and faithful to find yourself having half-clan cats.” She said. “All I’m saying is that you should meet up with Mistyfoot again, because she needs you.” Firestar scoffed.</p>
<p>“She needs me to sire her second litter?” Spottedleaf glared at Firestar, silently ordering him to be quiet.</p>
<p>“She needs you to listen to her.” The mottled shecat said. Firestar tilted his head.</p>
<p>“Listen to her?” Firestar repeated, trying to understand what the medicine cat meant.</p>
<p>“Yes. She’s been through a lot Firestar. She feels like an outcast in her own clan, and she’s been burying her scars for too long. You need to be there for her. She feels safe with you, and I, along with other Starclan cats, think it’s best you help her vent.” Spottedleaf said. Before Firestar could react to what she said, the mottled molly got up to her paws and touched his head with hers.</p>
<p>“You’re a good cat, Firestar. The clans need more cats like you. In the end, it’s your decision whether to meet Mistyfoot or not.”</p>
<p>Suddenly Firestar woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around and saw the familiar smooth walls of the leader’s den. The ginger tabby looked and saw the first few beams of sunlight enter the den. It was sunrise, and Firestar had till moon high to make a decision.</p>
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